When a Palestinian motion to expel Israel from international soccer was scrapped last week at the 11th hour by the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials hailed the results as a victory for Israeli public diplomacy. “Our international effort proved itself and brought about the failure of the effort of the Palestinian Authority,” Netanyahu said of the push headed by former Palestinian Gen.

Israel to send its largest ever sport delegation to the first European Games in Baku Azerbaijan, June 12-18. While months of fighting by the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) to suspend Israel from international soccer competitions with FIFA has ended, Israeli diplomats have warned that the next battle is near, the Olympics, Israeli news site Ynet reported.

Soccer is truly the world’s sport. It is played and watched by more people across the globe than any other sport.

Every four years, it is the center of global attention when the World Cup is held. It’s as if the World Series and Super Bowl were rolled into one mega-sporting event with viewership in the hundreds of millions.

As the behind-the-scenes diplomacy to halt Palestine's call for Israel to be suspended from FIFA enters its final phase, the head of the Palestine Football Association has provided FIFA with a timely example of why his controversial proposal remains on the table at the forthcoming FIFA Congress. 

While Qatar may be winning rounds in international organizations and associations, it is failing in part as result of continued criticism of its labour system to achieve its public diplomacy goals associated with World Cup.

A just published study highlights how commerce and glitz are reinforcing support for autocracy by international sports associations and undermining the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) newly found resolve to hold potential host cities to human rights standards to which world soccer body FIFA pays lip service.